Reelz Retrospective - Issue 1 - 2015 Year End Special

Jayasurya

Probably the most hardworking actor in the industry, Jayasurya has not been having a good time since second half of last year. Continuous duds after a critically acclaimed performance in the 2014 Iyobinte Pusthakam, really hampered the box office performance of his movies.

2015 started off with Aadu Oru Bheekara Jeeviyaanu helmed by Midhun Manuel Thomas, the writer of Ohm Shanthi Oshana, had big expectations. The movie failed to deliver and continued a bad run for Jayasurya. Kumbasaram, Lukka Chuppi, and Jilebi followed, but none of them made a mark on the box office. On the contrary, Lukka Chuppi and Aadu garnered a lot of acclaim after the home video release, which points to the bad release strategy, negative perception, and marketing for Jayasurya movies.

The year turned around with the massive success of the multi-starrer Amar Akbar Antony in which he stole the show in a star-studded lineup. He followed it up with Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam, teaming up with Ranjith Sankar. He was lauded for his performance and the movie ended up as a moderate success.

Jayasurya should keep the recaptured momentum going in 2016 and take up projects that is worthy of his talent and time.

 

Kunchacko Boban

Kunchacko Boban had 6 movies this year. Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal by Dr.Biju was his rare foray into the realm of non-commercial cinema. Other films were Chirakodinja Kinavukal, Jamanpyari, Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi, and Rajamma@yahoo. Unfortunately, except for Madhuranaranga and Jamnapyari, none of the films made a mark in the box office. Madhuranaranga turned out to be a moderate success with praise for Chackochan's performance. Lord Livingstone 7000 Kandi was highly anticipated, but ended up as a disaster in the box office. Chirakodinja Kinavukal showed the versatility of the actor, but the mixed reactions to the movie ensured its demise in the box office. Jamnapyari managed to get some interest with interesting promos and songs. Movie ended up as hit thanks to the low budget and festival season.

2016 looks like a promising year for Chackochan. Rajesh Pillai's Vettah along with Manju Warrier and Indrajith looks good. Next project is Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti, in which he teams up with Shyamili. Another project in the pipeline is with Roshan Andrews - Bobby Sanjay team named School Bus.

 

Asif Ali

Asif Ali is probably the most improved actor among the young lot. He has put in consistent performances in 2015. Even though he didn't have any big hits in the kitty, his choices of films were intelligent. He played a well-received cameo in Amar Akbar Antony. He was also part of the ensemble cast in You Too Brutus and Double Barrel. His solo movies included Nirnayakam and Kohinoor. Nirnayakam was well received and Kohinoor was a hit. He acted along with Kunchacko Boban in Rajamma@Yahoo, which was a flop. Kohinoor was his maiden production venture, directed by Vinay Govind. Asif Ali teamed up with Aju Varghese and the movie managed to be a moderate success with the duo racking up praise for their performance.

2016 promises to be a good year for Asif. Adventures of Omanakuttan, directed by the debutant Rohith.V.S and written by Sameer Abdul, looks to be good project. Anuraga Karikkin Vellam, where he teams up with Biju Menon is another project on the floors. Shake Hand with V.K.Prakash also promises to be good project for Asif in 2016. Asif Ali will also produce, The Beautiful Game, starring Prithviraj in 2016.

 

Fahad Faasil

Fahad Faasil is arguably the most talented out of the young actors in Malayalam. Unfortunately, 2015 has been a forgettable year for him. He just had three releases this year, none of which had any impact critically or in the box office. Mariyam Mukku, Haram, and Ayal Njanalla saw Fahad play radically different characters. His performance was universally praised but the movies were more or less panned by the critics.

2016 looks to be more positive for the talented actor. His first release would be Monsoon Mangoes, directed by Abi Varghese, the creator of the popular sitcom Akkarakazhakal. Monsoon Mangoes promises to be a comedy entertainer with Fahad in top form. The movie to follow would be Maheshinte Prathikaram, directed by Dileesh Pothan and produced by Aashique Abu, where he plays a small time photographer. The talented Anusree plays the female lead. Fahad Faasil is due for a strong come back with such movies in his kitty.

 

Biju Menon

Biju Menon had a stupendous solo blockbuster in 2014 in Vellimoonga. You would think the man would venture out to more solo hero movies. But Biju just had a single solo hero movie in Salt Mango Tree. The movie was an average grosser and ended up as a small success. He had good outings in Madhuranaranga, Anarkali, and Kunjiramayanam.

In 2016, he starts of with a role in Pavada with Prithviraj and later on playing Asif Ali's father in Anuraga Karikkin Vellam. Biju Menon will be seen as a solo hero in Vellakaduva by Jose Thomas. But the most promising movie from Biju Menon will Leela by Ranjith, based on the short story by Unni.R.

Suresh Gopi

Suresh Gopi was in the news more for his political ambitions rather than his movies in 2016. He just had two movies this year, Rudra Simhasanam and My God. Both the films bombed at the box office. The major achievement of the action star on the reels was the antagonist role in Shankar's "I". His performance was well received and showed that the actor still has enough in the tank. But with assembly elections in 2016, we could see the actor gravitating towards politics rather than cinema.

Jayaram

Jayaram continued his disastrous run in the box office. He had two movies this year, Sir C.P and Thinkal Muthal Velli Vare. Both of them bombed spectacularly. He was also seen in the Kamal Haasan movie, Uthama Villain.

In 2016, his first release will be Aadupuliyattam, a comedy horror film directed by Kannan Thamarakkulam.

 

It is not often that we get to speak of female actors in a box office year end report. Fortunately, we have two actresses in Malayalam who can draw audience and enthrall with their performances.

Manju Warrier

Manju Warrier made a grand comeback in 2014 after a public divorce from Dileep. Her performance in How Old Are You had glimpses of the gifted actress and much was expected from the "Lady Superstar" this year. Her first release was Ennum Eppozhum where she was paired up with Mohanlal under the helm of Sathyan Anthikkad. The movie was a hit, but her performance and the movie was no where near the expectation. Rani Padmini along with Rima Kallingal followed. Aashique Abu directed the movie in his signature style. Though the movie got rave reviews among the critics, it failed to capture any kind of momentum in the box office. The silver lining was that Manju was back at her best. Her performance was top notch and showed that she still had it her with the right material. She ended the year with Jo and the Boy, in which she played a single woman with big dreams. She teamed up with the child actor Sanoop and the movie was directed by Rojin Thomas, who had made a mark with the delightful Philips and the Monkey Pen. Unfortunately, a half-baked script and a bad release time coincided and the movie is a failure at the box office.

The couple of flops that Manju had this year clouds over her drawing ability. Her next film is Vettah from Rajesh Pillai, where she plays a police officer. Lets hope Vettah brings a much needed cheer for this amazing actor.

Parvathy Menon

Parvathy Menon shot into the spotlight this year with Ennu Ninte Moideen and Charlie. In both the films, she was able to overshadow the more celebrated male leads with stupendous performances. Perhaps we are seeing the evolution of Parvathy into bankable female actor on the critical side as well as the box office. A whiff of fresh air since we haven't had such an actress since the first innings of Manju Warrier came to an abrupt halt. The best part of Parvathy many believe to be her choice of films. She is picky when it comes to the movies that she acts, and now she is a position to command such a term.

In 2016, she will be seen reprising her role for Bangalore Days in the Tamil remake.

 

Other Language Movies in Kerala

The biggest other language movie in Kerala was "I' from Shankar and Vikram. The movie was quite well received by the Kerala public and grossed nearly 20 crores. In a typical year, "I" would have been 1st or 2nd in the Kerala box office. The trend of highly successful other language cinema is Kerala is facing a downturn with respect to the success of Malayalam movies in the BO. For example, the highly anticipated "Mass" from Surya and Venkat Prabhu fell flat against Premam even on the first weekend before the juggernaut started to roll.

Bahubali took Kerala by storm and collected nearly 15 crores with the highest amount for a single screen coming from Ariesplex Theatre in Trivandrum. Vedhalam, Puli, and Mass rounds up the top five and collected less than six crores. Vedhalam turned out to be profitable for the distributor, while Puli and Mass gave their distributors a lot of pain.

The regular trend of Kerala Film Exhibitors’ Federation headed by Liberty Basheer calling for unnecessary strikes just before the release of other languages juggernauts continued. Hopefully, the Malayali film makers produce quality movies that attract the film goers and the viewers stay away from movies that release widely with such underhanded tactics to teach a lesson to such unscrupulous bunch.

Top 5 Other Language Movies in Kerala

The distributor stands to make around 40% of the gross collection as the upper limit, so even if the movie grosses more than the rights, it is still not sufficient to reclaim the investment.

1. I - 19.30 Cr
Verdict - Blockbuster
"I" had a hefty rights tag for 5.40 crores and proved a good investment for the distributor thanks to the massive initial collection.

2. Bahubali - 14.5 Cr
Verdict - Block Buster
The sensation of the year in Indian cinema got the box office ringing in Kerala as well. The distributor bought the rights for 2.30 crores and made a bank thanks to the stupendous performance.

3. Vedhalam - 5.60 Cr
Verdict - Hit
The Ajith starrer was bought for 1.90 crores and made a neat profit for the distributor.

4. Puli - 5.40 Cr
Verdict - Flop
Puli was a spectacular flop and the distributor lost quite a bit of money thanks to the hefty rights at 4.50 crores.

5. Mass - 5.28 Cr
Verdict - Flop
Mass came in with a massive hype and lost its ground against Premam incurring losses for the distributor who spent 2.35 Cr to acquire the rights.

One of the biggest return of investment was Kanchana 2, whose rights cost only 35 lakhs. Furious 7 followed the global sentiment and was an all time blockbuster thanks to the fans flocking to see Paul Walker for the last time.

Other major hits based on return of investment are as follows:

• Furious 7 - All Time Blockbuster
• Kanchana 2 - Blockbuster
• Kakkisattai - Super Hit
• Thani Oruvan - Super Hit
• Jurassic World - Hit
• Maya - Hit
• OK Kanmani - Hit
• Romeo & Juliet - Hit

The major flops were as follows:

• Mass
• Puli
• Anegan
• Maari
• Thangamakan
• Paayum Puli
• Son Of Sathyamoorthi
• Dilwale
• Thoongavanam
• Papanasam
• 10 Endrathukulle
• Uthamavillan
• Komban
• Nanbenda
• Aambala

 

Advent of New Fandoms

Malayalam cinema till date witnessed the fight between two fandoms for about 3 decades - Mammotty fans vs Mohanlal fans. There have been other superstars in the meanwhile, like Suresh Gopi and Dileep, but they could never match the craze that the Big Ms had generated among fans across regions and religions. But in 2015, new fandoms have come up and consolidated.

Prithviraj always had his share of loyal fans for a very long time, but in 2015, the fandom finally got their comeuppance in terms of two big blockbusters. With a consolidated fandom in place, Prithviraj is sure to get a good opening in the future.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Dulquer Salmaan inherited a fan base. But as he has established himself, he has carved out his niche fandom that is different from his father's. What many have observed is that there is a large section of Dulquer fans who are fans of Mohanlal fans rather than Mammootty. There shouldn't be any surprise there because Dulquer's recent roles, especially Charlie, have been reminiscent of the likable boy next door roles that Lalettan did in the late eighties. It is heartening to see that the fans are sensible folks who put their money and effort based on their likes and dislikes. Quite different from the portrayal of fans in the mainstream perception as mindless drones who follow a cult of personality. Propelled by his fan base, Charlie managed to reach the second spot in both opening day collection as well as opening week collection, behind Loham and Premam respectively.

Nivin Pauly has been on a roll since 2014 and he has started to carve up his own loyal fan base among the youth. Nivin films have consistently over-performed in the box office that culminated in the massive opening that Premam took. Premam holds the opening week record. Nivin has also managed to garner fans from other languages as well. Nivin movies have a considerable following on home video among a lot of Tamil and Telugu youngsters. The opening for Action Hero Biju will be deciding factor as to the question of who has the bigger fandom among the new generation stars.

When it comes to the old guard, the opening day frenzy for Loham showed that Mohanlal is still the reigning king. It will be interesting to see how Puli Murukan fares amongst the promising entertainers from youngsters. The success and the opening of Bhaskar the Rascal and Pathemary showed that Mammootty still has a passionate fandom behind him and it would be ridiculous to write him off. Dileep's fandom has been traditionally family-centric. With the success of Two Countries, it is fair to say that he still has them under his thumbs as long as the movie is passable.

 

What's Hot for 2016

Traditionally, the first movie of the year flops in Malayalam. The biggest exception has been the inimitable Traffic. 2016 starts of with Style starring Unni Mukundan and Tovino Thomas helmed by the promising young director Binu.S. Binu stormed the scene with his urban fantasy Ithihasa, a sleeper hit in 2014. The eagerly awaited Action Hero Biju releases in mid-January. Nivin Pauly is set to cement his position as a superstar depending upon the fate of this much-hyped movie. Movie lovers are waiting for a movie from Abrid Shine ever since the stellar 1983 hit the theatres in 2014.

Mammootty starts his year with A.K.Sajan's Puthiya Niyamam. There is a pre-release buzz that gives some amount of hype to the movie despite the bad track record that A.K.Sajan has in the recent past. Prithviraj will be donning the role of a fun alcoholic in Marthandan's Pavada. Despite Marthandan's disappointing record, the Maniyapilla Raju production seems to have generated some buzz with a good trailer.

Perhaps one of the most eagerly awaited movies is Monsoon Mangoes. Directed by Abi Varghese, the creator of Akkarakazchakal, this Fahad Faasil starrer has been majorly shot in the United States. The movie promises to be a fun ride on the back of the superlative cast and crew.

 

All Time Top Ten Box Office in Malayalam

Malayalam all-time top ten is a hotly contested debate. Forum Reelz tries to make sense of all the reports based on genuine information from the insiders as well as meticulous analysis based on other sources. This top ten is entirely based on the Kerala box office and does not reflect earnings from other centres. Another important point to note is that these figures are not adjusted for inflation. The number of shows mentioned in the report is just from the release centres. We have not included the number of shows from non-release centres because of data insufficiency and errors in existing data. The collection figures include both release and non-release centres.

Forum Reelz strives to maintain this list and update it periodically based on our analysis. For example, after the run of 2015 movies are complete, there will be additions and removal to this list.

Enough of the fine print and let's see the top ten...

10. Vellimoonga
The surprise blockbuster of 2014 from Biju Menon is at number ten. The movie captured the imagination of Malayalis and ran to packed houses.
Budget - 2.6 crores
Shows - 15610
Gross - 18.5 crores
Satellite - 3.15 crores

9. Pazhassi Raja
The period epic from the M.T-Hariharan-Mammootty team is at number nine. Released in 2009, the movie still holds a position in the top 10 that attests its massive popularity.
Budget - 12 crores (estimated)
Shows - 15942
Gross - 19.5 crores
Satellite - 2.6 crores

8. Mayamohini
Dileep's Mayamohini is at number eight. Dileep in his female avatar captured a big chunk of the audience in 2012 summer vacation and stormed to the top of the box office pile in 2012.
Budget - 6 crores
Shows - 13546
Gross- 20.5 crores
Satellite - 3.5 crores

7. Oru Vadakkan Selfie
2015 was a watershed for Malayalam movies in the box office, and this movie started it all. The Nivin Pauly starrer directed by Prejith is at number six.
Budget - 4.5 crores
Shows - 14383
Gross - 23.5 crores
Satellite - 5 crores

6. Twenty:20
The star-studded Twenty:20 produced by Dileep, starring all the stalwarts of Malayalam cinema, and directed by Joshiy is at number seven. Released in 2008, the movie ran in packed houses and remained at the number one position until 2013.
Budget - 5.5 crores
Shows - 18519
Gross - 23.75 crores
Satellite - 2.5 crores

5. Bangalore Days
Bangalore Days stormed the box office in 2014 and became an instant sensation all over. Often hailed as the younger stars' Twenty-20, the movie collected big worldwide and is currently at number five.
Budget - 8.5 crores
Shows - 20880
Gross - 28.34 crores
Satellite - 5.9 crores

4. Amar Akbar Antony
Maiden debut by Nadirsha catapulted to the top of the charts in 2015. The movie did brilliant business and surpassed the expectations of box office pundits.
Budget - 6.8 crores
Shows - 15200
Gross - 34 crores
Satellite - 4.5 crores

3. Premam
Premam enraptured audience worldwide and steamrolled the way through theatres across the country in 2015. The popularity of the movie can be ascertained from the 225 days run in Chennai. Final figures of worldwide figures of Premam stands at around 60 crores.
Budget - 5.25 crores
Shows - 20892
Gross - 40.61 crores
Satellite - 5.22 crores

2. Ennu Ninte Moidheen
The stunning debut from R.S.Vimal denied Premam the first spot in 2015 and stands second in the all-time Kerala box office. The period love story enthralled the audience of Kerala across age groups. The satellite right has not been sold yet and the reports of the negotiations suggest a figure north of 6 crores.
Budget - 9 crores
Shows - 19469
Gross - 40.8 crores

1. Drishyam
Despite a strong onslaught from Premam, Drishyam remains steadfast on top of the all time Kerala box office as well as the worldwide box office for Malayalam cinema. The Jeetu Joseph movie got remade into multiple languages and none of them could match the original in content, performances, or the box office. Drishyam remains the leader of the pack. With a worldwide collection of around 65 crores, will it survive at the top for another year?
Budget - 5.5 crores
Shows - 26361
Gross - 44.3 crores
Satellite - 6.5 crores